Jackson, MS Crime Map

Jackson, MS Crime Map: Neighborhood Safety Grades and Local Insights

Jackson's Overall Safety Profile

With a population of 350,373 and an overall crime grade of D, Jackson, Mississippi presents a complex safety picture that varies considerably depending on where you are in the city. Across the 11 neighborhoods analyzed, the data tells a more nuanced story than the citywide grade suggests: 36.4% of neighborhoods earned an A grade, another 27.3% scored a B, and only 18% landed in the D or F range. That means nearly two-thirds of analyzed neighborhoods qualify as safe by conventional measures, even as the city's aggregate numbers weigh heavily on the overall rating.

Safest Neighborhoods in Jackson

Belhaven stands out as Jackson's safest neighborhood, earning a straight A grade with a median household income of $87,267 — more than double the city median of $40,064. Cherokee Heights and Woodland Hills both hold A- grades, with median incomes of $78,461 and $63,067 respectively, reflecting the consistent relationship between economic stability and lower crime rates. Willowood also earns an A- at a median income of $54,259, while Hanging Moss East rounds out the upper tier with a B+ grade and a median income of $60,618. These neighborhoods represent genuine pockets of safety within a city that struggles with broader crime pressures.

Higher-Crime Areas to Understand

Belhaven Heights carries the lowest grade among named neighborhoods at D+, with a median household income of $39,148 — closely tracking the citywide median and illustrating how income concentration shapes local safety outcomes. Midtown Jackson earns a C grade despite a relatively modest median income of $43,598, and its population of 1,668 makes it one of the more densely inhabited areas in the dataset. Downtown Jackson also holds a C, though its tiny residential population of just 52 people means crime incidents there disproportionately affect workers and visitors rather than long-term residents.

Crime Grade Distribution Across Neighborhoods

Looking at the full distribution, 18.2% of neighborhoods scored a C, while 9.1% each fell into the D and F categories. The concentration of safer grades at the top — with 63.7% of neighborhoods earning an A or B — suggests that Jackson's worst crime is geographically concentrated rather than evenly spread. A city with a poverty rate of 24.5% and an unemployment rate of 11.4% faces structural conditions that elevate crime in specific corridors, but those conditions do not define every block or every community.

Property Crime vs. Violent Crime in Jackson

Jackson's crime challenges are weighted differently across these two broad categories. Property crime — including vehicle theft, burglary, and larceny — tends to be the more widespread concern, affecting higher-traffic corridors and commercial zones like those near Downtown Jackson and Midtown. Violent crime, while less frequent in absolute terms, is more concentrated in the lower-graded neighborhoods and carries a disproportionate impact on community perception and resident quality of life. Neighborhoods like Belhaven and Cherokee Heights, with their higher incomes and tighter community networks, show measurably lower rates across both categories.

How the Crime Map Helps You Make Better Decisions

For anyone navigating Jackson's housing market — where the median home value sits at $90,835 and median rent at $856 — the interactive crime map is a practical due-diligence tool, not just a curiosity. Home buyers evaluating properties near Broadmeadow or Lakeover can cross-reference grade data with listing prices to weigh real safety tradeoffs. Renters considering Midtown Jackson can see exactly how that C grade compares to nearby Belhaven before signing a lease. Commuters who pass through Downtown Jackson daily can identify which routes and times of day carry elevated risk. The map converts raw crime data into neighborhood-level context that generic city statistics simply cannot provide.